An important factor in using various ingredients in the food industry is the ability to keep such ingredients in free-flowing form. For example, substances that adhere or otherwise block together must be mechanically broken apart or separated in an additional processing step in order to be added as an ingredient in a mixture. Consequently, many food products have anti-caking or anti-blocking agents added to their respective compositions in order to maintain the substances in free-flowing form. Further, other substances must be stored at specific temperatures or humidity levels to prevent caking or blocking.
In addition to the foregoing, some food substances, such as licorice extract, cannot be ordinarily maintained in a free-flowing form. Licorice extract is a widely used flavoring ingredient in the food, tobacco, pharmaceutical, and fragrance industries. The extract is typically imported from China, where it has been processed to separate the extract from the raw licorice root. It is shipped in five (5) to ten (10) kilogram blocks of "raw licorice extract" which are ordinarily processed in some manner prior to use by an end user to create "processed licorice extract." This processing can be limited to blending various types of licorice extract (often categorized by the level of glycyrrhizin present therein), via the breaking and mixing of solid chunks or the heating and mixing of semi-liquid extract. (Throughout this specification, all references to "licorice" are intend to be references to licorice extract unless specifically stated to the contrary.)
Processed licorice extract is presently provided to makers of end products in three states: solid blocks; paste; and spray-dried forms. While these three forms of licorice are widely used in the market segments noted above, these forms are either overly cumbersome to handle or subject to blocking, i.e., reformation into blocks or aggregates.
For example, the block form of licorice extract is very cumbersome to work with. In this regard, pieces must be broken off the block, by chiseling, crushing, or the like, in order to be added to a given preparation. This method results in the formation of individual pieces having little consistency with respect to size, shape, surface area, or weight. Consequently, obtaining specific amounts of licorice extract from blocks to be added to a preparation is not only laborious, but inexact. Also, the individual pieces obtained from the large block have a propensity to adhere to each other, thereby further complicating the preparation of a composition.
The paste form of licorice extract is a thick, viscous semi-solid that is also difficult to handle. Again, removing precise amounts of the paste is not a simple process. Moreover, this form of licorice extract is quite messy, making packaging and handling of extremely difficult.
The spray-dried form of licorice extract is a powder which appears to be easy to use. However, the small particles of black powder easily become airborne requiring the use of dust masks, filters and other air control devices. Moreover, in this form, the licorice extract is highly hygroscopic. As such, it is very susceptible to caking into a mass having characteristics little different from the block form. Thus, the spray-dried form must be kept in a carefully controlled low humidity environment. This enormously increases the cost and difficulty of the use of this form of licorice extract.
Thus, there has been a long felt need for a free-flowing form of licorice extract that is easily packaged, not susceptible to caking, and further, does not require the utilization of a closely regulated environment by the maker of end products.